JAKARTA: At least 14 school students were killed and several others were missing and feared drowned when an overloaded raft sank in East Java's Brantas river. Fifteen students survived the mishap that occurred on Tuesday afternoon when a small wooden raft attempted to cross the Brantas river in east Java capital of Surabaya. Rescue workers continued to search for an unspecified number of students who were still missing after the accident. In revengeNEW HAMPSHIRE: A man who may have held a grudge against a judge killed her, two state troopers and a newspaper editor during a wild three-hour rampage through rural New Hampshire yesterday that ended when police shot him to death. The rampage began about afternoon outside a grocery store in this tiny town when a man later identified as Carl Drega killed two New Hampshire state troopers, then fled in a stolen patrol car.Egypt strifeCAIRO: Suspected Muslim militants shot dead five people, including four policemen, and wounded eight in southern Egypt last night, the interior ministry and security sources said. Four unidentified men with machineguns attacked two police vehicles in a crowded area in the town of Manfalut, 300 km south of cairo, the sources said this morning. Four policemen as well as a civilian caught in the line of fire were killed, security sources said.Minister resignsBOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: Bosnian Serb Minister of Finance Ranko Travar has resigned, an official from Bosnian President Biljana Plavsic's office here said. Travar said: ``I can no longer take part in resolving the political and constitutional crisis.'' He was referring to a power struggle in the Serb-controlled entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina.US to end curbsWASHINGTON: The United States may make exceptions to its travel embargo on Cuba so that Americans can visit the island for Pope John Paul II's visit in January, officials said. The easing of the restrictions would allow US Roman Catholics to attend the festivities surrounding the Pope's five-day visit to Cuba, scheduled to begin Jan 21.Taliban banISLAMABAD: The Taliban religious army has banned the use and trade of drugs in the regions of Afghanistan it controls, Taliban radio reported. Though vague, the statement could indicate that Taliban leaders had decided to respond to mounting international pressure to crack down on the country's drug trade. US has said Afghanistan rivals Burma as the world's largest opium producer.
